Towards TB Elimination 2030 Dompet Dhuafa Supports TB Patients to Regain Empowerment

6 April 2024, 22:18

JAKARTA – Tuberculosis (TB) is still a global public health problem, including in Indonesia. Based on data from the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023, Indonesia is still ranked 2nd in the world for having the most people with TB with a total estimated of 1,060,000 cases. Meanwhile, based on data from the Indonesian Tuberculosis Dashboard of the Indonesian Ministry of Health as of December 4, 2023, more than 800 thousand cases of tuberculosis have been successfully discovered. This means that the efforts to discover cases of tuberculosis in Indonesia have reached around 80 percent of the estimate.

Given the magnitude of the TB problem in the world and the need for multilateral cooperation to address this epidemic, the Government of Indonesia, together with the governments of other countries, has declared a political commitment to eliminate TB by 2030. This commitment was strengthened with the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 67 of 2021 concerning TBC Control, which contains approaches, strategies, and measures that need to be taken immediately to achieve the target of eliminating TBC by 2030.

 

 

Thus, based on Presidential Regulation Number 67 of 2021 concerning Tuberculosis Control, which mandates the formation of a Tuberculosis Control Partnership Forum (WKPTB), a partnership guideline book has been compiled on the acceleration of tuberculosis control, which can provide an overview of how the partnership for the Acceleration of Tuberculosis Control (P2TB) is being implemented in the WKPTB.

Read also: World TB Day Commemoration Series, Dompet Dhuafa Holds TB Exhibition for School Children

In order to strengthen partnerships in accelerating TB control and to welcome and enliven World Tuberculosis Day (WTD) in 2024, the National TB Control Committee will launch a partnership guideline book which is expected to increase advocacy, awareness, and community participation in holistic TB control efforts.

“This book summarizes various best practices and strategies that have proven effective in tackling TB. I invite all TB control partners to disseminate these guidelines widely. So that, we can accelerate the achievement of the TB elimination target in 2030. I also appeal to WKPTB partners and local governments to work directly on the target of people affected by or suspected of having TB. So that the efforts and resources provided can be felt,” said Budiono Subambang, Chair of WKPTB.

Now, as the culmination of the trust placed in it, Dompet Dhuafa has been given the responsibility of Chair of Division VI in Mitigation, Psychosocial, and Economic Empowerment. This step emphasizes Dompet Dhuafa’s commitment to providing comprehensive solutions in the management of TB, both in terms of health and the psychosocial and economic aspects of the affected community.

Read also: Dompet Dhuafa Presents the Implementation of Empowered TB Response at the High Level Meeting Tuberculosis 2022

Since 2021, Dompet Dhuafa has been the main partner in the Tuberculosis Control Partnership Forum, an initiative involving various institutions, ministries, and partners from civil society and the media. The main focus of this partnership forum is to combine and collaborate various elements that can support TB control programs.

“Dompet Dhuafa itself is included in this partnership as a member of the Community Empowerment Division and also as the Head of the Mitigation, Psychosocial, and Economic Empowerment Division. And we have been compiling this book since August 2022, collecting various references, experiences, or good practices, and also drawing up partnership plans that can be strengthened both at the central and regional levels. “Because the purpose of this book is also as a guideline for the formation of strategic partnerships that can be done both at the central and regional levels,” explained Dr. Yeni Purnamasari as General Manager (GM) of Health at Dompet Dhuafa.

In line with this, the Chair of the WKPTB Book Launching Committee, Nancy D Anggraeni, said that the book is expected to provide an overview of how the acceleration of TB control has been going, providing positive contributions and great benefits, so that it can be used as a reference for regions in accelerating the handling of TB in the regions.

Dompet Dhuafa has demonstrated good practices in various fields. One of them is community empowerment, especially through efforts to create Tuberculosis-Free Healthy Areas. This initiative has been implemented in 12 provinces through Dompet Dhuafa’s Free Health Services (LKC). The main focus is on community tuberculosis, where they mobilize the active role of the community and all relevant stakeholders in an effort to find tuberculosis patients, assist with the treatment process, and ensure the patient’s recovery from the disease.

“In the psychosocial and economic empowerment sectors, Dompet Dhuafa has made a significant contribution in ensuring access to and guaranteeing health for the community. The main focus is on fulfilling access to health services, including transportation by ambulance, as well as payment or settlement of BPJS arrears. In addition, they also advocate to relevant stakeholders to ensure that all parties get proper health rights,” continued Dr. Yeni.

Read also: Unfit for Tb Sufferers, Dompet Dhuafa Collaborates to Rebuild Indah’s House

Furthermore, as the Director of the Tuberculosis Eradication Working Committee, Yaser Raimi Panigoro emphasized that through this partnership guidebook, the hope is to be able to invite more parties to be actively involved and strengthen partnerships in the effort to eliminate tuberculosis in Indonesia.

“I hope that this partnership and participation will continue to be a crucial part of the TB eradication effort. Together, we can create a place where every child, every person, and every family has fair and proper access to quality health care. Let’s realize the elimination of TB by 2030 by strengthening existing partnerships,” added Yaser.

In the effort to combat tuberculosis, Dompet Dhuafa has played an important role in ensuring nutritional fulfillment for tuberculosis sufferers, both through the provision of food ingredients and ready-to-eat meals. This aims to support optimal nutritional status for people with tuberculosis (ODTBC), accompanied by assistance so that the treatment process can run until recovery.

Read also: The renovation of Indah’s house has been completed and is ready for habitation, the result of Dompet Dhuafa’s collaboration with various parties

“Lalu ketersediaan rumah singgah untuk shelter, masing-masing yang membutuhkan tempat tinggal sementara, kemudian rumah harapan atau rumah sehat, jadi semacam bedah rumah jadi kita kolaborasikan dengan teman-teman Yahintara (Yayasan Arsitektur Hijau Nusantara), yang terdiri dari para arsitek yang punya visi sosial. Itu semua sudah kita lakukan di beberapa wilayah Indonesia dan yang terakhir yaitu pemberdayaan ekonomi. Jadi, Dompet Dhuafa telah memberikan wirausaha bekerja sama dengan organisasi penyintas TBC dalam wadah perhimpunan organisasi pasien TB di tiga wilayah di DKI, Tangerang, dan Jawa Barat,” tambah dr. Yeni.

“Semoga ‘Temukan, Obati dan Produktifkan Kembali’ ini, menjadi harapan bahwa ODTBC ini tidak putus dari pengobatan saja, tapi juga ada edukasi, pendampingan dan ada pemutusan terhadap stigma negatif, sampai dengan pendampingan psikososial. Sehingga, bisa berdaya atau produktif kembali setelah pengobatan,” pungkas dr Yeni. (Dompet Dhuafa)

Teks dan Foto: Anndini Dwi Putri
Penyunting: Dhika Prabowo, Ronna